"Preparing Science Librarians for Success: An Evaluation of Position Advertisements and Recommendations for Library Science Curricula"

Abstract:

“Science librarianship is a rapidly changing professional specialization that requires unique skills and experiences for science librarians to perform at the highest level. A content analysis of recent job advertisements was conducted to determine the most desirable qualifications for science librarians. It was found that the most frequently cited qualifications include formal education and professional experience, and also, significantly, interpersonal skill sets in areas such as customer service, communication, and teaching. Furthermore, subject-specific scientific knowledge and experience was also found to be desirable for science librarian positions or departmental liaison roles. These results suggest that library schools should re-evaluate their curricula to make sure that their courses emphasize communication skills and offer subject-specific training as well as education in the traditional skills of librarianship.”

Paper Excerpts:

"The key research questions are:

What knowledge and skills are expected of science librarians as reflected in job advertisements?

How do these expectations differ in different areas of the science librarianship?

What recommendations can be made to LIS faculty responsible for their schools' curricula based on this information?”

"Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Brian Winterman for providing the context for this study and offering helpful suggestions and encouragement as we pursued our inquiry. We would also like to thank Dr. Howard Rosenbaum for his helpful comments on a draft of this paper."